Google Pay Expands 'Nearby Stores' Feature, Now Available in 35 Cities Across India

Google Pay has expanded its 'Nearby Stores' feature in India to help users find information about "open stores" in their neighbourhood. The feature that was launched last month, has rolled out on Android devices and is now available across 35 Indian cities, the company said on Wednesday. The digital wallet and online payments platform by Google has also added the option to book cooking gas cylinders from HP Gas, Bharat Petroleum, and Indane. Both Android and iOS users can now book and pay for gas cylinders via the app.

The Nearby Stores feature can be found under the "Businesses and bills" category on Google Pay. Under the Nearby Stores feature, users will find information such as location distance of the store, working hours, and categories, featuring general stores, drug stores etc. Additionally, listed businesses can highlight the list of goods available in stock.

Google in a note has also stated that users could check out whether social distancing measures were in place at the store. The new feature is said to help users practice social distancing amid coronavirus pandemic in India.

Google Pay has said that users in Mumbai can also see if the store is present in a containment zone. At the moment, the Google Pay 'Nearby Store' feature is available in 35 cities, including Hyderabad, New Delhi, Gurugram, Kolkata, and Chennai.

Other cities include Ahmedabad, Ajit Singh Nagar, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Ernakulam, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, Indore, Kanpur, Kochi, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mysuru, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Noida, Patna, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Prayag Raj, Ranga Reddy, Sahibzada, Secunderabad, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi, and Visakhapatnam.

Meanwhile, Google Pay is also allowing users to book and pay for gas cylinders via the app. The feature is available to both Android and iOS users. Lastly, Google Pay has also launched a 'Coronavirus Spot' that provides users with the latest safety guidelines from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The section is said to provide links to a variety of charities accepting donations to support relief work. However, the feature is not widely available yet, and users are expected to get this via an update in the coming days.

Is Redmi Note 9 Pro Max the best affordable camera phone in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.